Verizon to no Longer Offer Two-Year Contracts for Smartphone Upgraders

As of Thursday, Verizon will no longer allow customers who are upgrading their smartphones to roll into a new two-year contract. The move will effectively eliminate two-year contracts for all customers, new or existing. The two-year contract upgrade option is no longer available at Verizon stores, or partner stores, such as Apple’s retail locations.

Verizon did away with two-year contracts for new customers in August 2015, but allowed existing customers to renew their two-year contracts when upgrading their smartphones. As of Thursday, existing customers will be transitioned to device payment plans as their contracts expire.

When their plans expire, customers who are currently on a two-year contract plan will be required to purchase a phone outright or select a device payment plan if they want to upgrade to a newer device. Verizon will, of course, charge a device upgrade fee at that time.

Verizon offers payment plans for the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus, starting at $27.08 and $32.08 respectively. The carrier offers a wide range of data plans, starting at $35 per month for 2GB of LTE data, ranging up to $110 per month for a 24GB plan. Each plan has a $20 access fee for smartphones.